1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of door sealing devices, and more particularly, to a frame-mounted sealing assembly used to weatherproof overhead garage doors, hinged entry doors, freezer doors, and roll-up doors.
The present invention also relates to the field of window frames, and more particularly, to window frames suitable for use on structures such as houses, greenhouses, sheds, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are a number of door sealing devices that are the subject of issued patents or pending applications and also multiple examples of commercially available door sealing devices, but none of these inventions or products includes the novel features of the present invention. The present invention is comprised of a metal main frame and a flexible sealing component. The main frame has a unique shape with internal reinforcement braces that make it particularly rigid and durable compared to the prior art. It resists deformation due to compressive forces from the attachment fasteners and also resists buckling due to external loads. It also incorporates a longitudinal groove that serves as a drill-hole positioning guide. Unlike the prior art, the main frame can be used with a variety of different and interchangeable sealing elements for various applications.
The present invention comprises four alternate sealing elements, including a flexile polymer fin having an angled shape that improves sealing and durability, a hollow bulb seal, a magnetic seal, and a brush seal. Each of these sealing elements may be replaced without removing the main frame from the structure to which it is mounted.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/822,399 (Stutzman et al., 2005), now abandoned, discloses a garage door bottom seal designed to be attached to the bottom edge of a garage door. The device is comprised of a flexible compression-type seal and a rigid flat base. In a preferred embodiment, the base and flexible seal are both comprised of polymer materials that are coextruded as a single unit. Unlike the present invention, the Stutzman invention does not comprise a reinforced metal main frame or replaceable, angled fin sealing element.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,551 (Berger, Jr., 2004) discloses a garage door trim assembly with a removable sealing element. Like the present invention, this device is designed to be mounted on the side frames of a garage door assembly and is comprised of a base unit and a replaceable flexible seal. The base of the Berger device is roll-formed from sheet material and lacks the reinforcing legs and thick outer walls of the present main frame. The sealing member of the Berger invention lacks the angled shape and tapered cross section of the sealing member of the present invention. The connection between the base and sealing member of the Berger invention is accomplished by a simple folded-in “bay” within the base that appears to provide a simple friction-fit connection between the base and sealing member, unlike the T-shaped or round receiver channels of the present invention that connect to the sealing elements with T-shaped or round ends that mate with the receiver channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,580 (Ruff, 1968) discloses a weather sealing strip designed to be used with side-opening sheet metal doors. The device may be used to seal the bottom and sides of a door but is specifically designed to be adjustable so that the bottom gap between the door bottom and the door frame sill may be sealed for doors of two standard heights. The device is mounted to the edges of the door rather than the door frame. The device is comprised of a mounting rail and a flexible sealing strip. The mounting rail is formed from a solid metal bar, for example, extruded aluminum. The sealing strip is hollow and U-shaped in cross section and comprises multiple longitudinal fins along the outer edge to provide an improved seal. The sealing strip is attached to the mounting rail via a T-shaped channel within the mounting rail that mates with T-shaped edges of the sealing strip. Unlike the present invention, the base unit of the Ruff invention must be detached from its supporting structure in order to replace the sealing strip.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,598 (Tinflow et al., 1967) discloses a door bottom weather strip that attaches to the bottom edge of a door. The device comprises a two-piece metal base and a flexible vinyl seal and is specifically designed to accommodate doors of two different thicknesses. The sealing strip is attached to the mounting rail via a T-shaped channel within the mounting base that mates with T-shaped edges of the sealing strip, in a manner similar to the present invention, but the structures of the base unit and sealing elements are different from the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,949,651 (Hill, 1960) discloses a door bottom weather stripping device comprised of a preferably metal base and flexible, replaceable seal. The devices attaches to the bottom edge of a door. The seal is attached to the base by a pair of round channels manufactured into the base that mate with round heads at the two longitudinal edges of the seal. The round mating connection is designed to provide rotational movement between the seal and base, thereby reducing failures due to flexing of the seal. The seal comprises a series of fins along the outer edge to provide an improved seal with the door frame. The base unit of the Hill invention differs from the present base unit in that it does not comprise reinforcing legs and is not designed to have sufficient strength to serve as structural support.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,136 (Khallil, 1985) discloses a spring-loaded weather strip that mounts on a door frame and provides a self-adjusting seal between is warped door and its frame. The device comprises a two-piece aluminum base and a poly-pile sealing strip. The sealing strip is pressed against the door via curved steel bar springs located within the base component of the device. The base component of the Khallil invention differs from the present base unit in that it is comprised of multiple pieces that move relative to each other, whereas the base (main frame) of the present invention is a comprised of a single piece of extruded metal with reinforcing legs.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,612,664 (Sidden, 1952) discloses a weather stripping device for storm doors. The device may be attached either to the door or to the door frame, depending on the particular type of door to be treated. The device is comprised of a metal base component and a flexible rubber sealing strip. The sealing strip is attached to the base by folding the metal base around one edge of the strip. The shape of the fold is designed to result in the strip having an angle of about 45 degrees relative to the face of the base. The free edge of the sealing strip is tapered to a knife edge. Unlike the present invention, the sealing strip of the Sidden invention is not replaceable, nor does it comprise a bend manufactured into the flexible component.
In addition to the prior-art patents and applications described above, there are several commercially available products that have some superficial similarity to the present invention, but all of these have significant structural differences from the present invention. One example of a commercially available product is the “Aluminum and Vinyl Garage Door Bottom, #87643” sold by Home Depot (homedepot.com) of Atlanta, Ga. This product is a composite material comprised of an aluminum base and a non-removable, semicircular vinyl sealing strip. The product is designed to be attached to the bottom edge of a garage door with screws.
A second example of a commercially available product is the “Aluminum & Santoprene Weather Strip, #N7225” sold by Its Easy Being Green (itseasybeinggreen.com) of Cedar Knolls, N.J. This product is comprised of an extruded aluminum base plate and a round, hollow SANTOPRENE® sealing strip. The connection between the base and sealing strip is via a T-shaped channel extruded into the aluminum base that encloses a mating T-shaped end on the sealing strip. The base of this product differs from the present base in that it is flat and lacks reinforcing legs.
A third example of a commercially available product is the “Thermwell VA17WH Frost King 17 Foot Aluminum Plus Tubular Vinyl Strip Door Set” sold by Hardware and Tolls.Com (hardwareandtools.com) of Winchester, Va. This product is comprised of an extruded aluminum base plate and a hollow tubular vinyl sealing strip. The two components are attached via a round extruded channel in the base that mates with a round end on the sealing strip. The base of this product differs from the present invention in that it lacks reinforcing legs.
A fourth example of a commercially available product is the “M-D Building Products Silver Aluminum with Vinyl Door Weather Strip, #297193) sold by Lowes (lowes.com) Mooresville, N.C. This product is a replacement threshold seal designed to be attached to the bottom frame of a door. It is a composite material comprised of an aluminum base with a vinyl insert seal. The structure of this product differs from the present invention in that the sealing element for this product is attached to the top of the base over the fastening screws, whereas in the present invention, the sealing element is attached to one edge of the base. The sealing element of this product does not appear to be replaceable.
A fifth commercially available product is the “Aluminum weather strip seal, #815715) sold by TradeKD (tradekd.com). This product is comprises of an extruded aluminum base with a flexible sealing strip attached to one edge of the base via a rectangular channel. This product differs from the present invention in that the base does not have reinforcing legs, and the sealing element does not have a manufactured bend.
A sixth example of a commercially available product is the “Q-Lon Door Kit with Aluminum Carrier, #10130.1” sold by ConservationMart (conservationmart.com). This product is designed to attach to the sides and top of door frames with screws and is comprised of a galvanized aluminum base and a polyethylene-clad urethane foam sealing strip. The sealing strip is attached to the base via a rectangular channel manufactured into one end of the base. This product differs from the present invention in that the base does not have reinforcing legs, and the sealing element is comprised of polymer foam rather than flexible polymer.